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Day 2 of the Pune Test witnessed one of the most bizarre dismissals of the modern great Virat Kohli's career. A harmless low full toss from left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner missed Kohli's bat as he played down the wrong line and got bowled. The dismissal stunned the crowd at Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) Stadium into silence. Kohli was livid with himself as he walked back to the dressing room after throwing his wicket away. As Santner’s seven-wicket haul helped the visitors bowl out India for 156, the left-arm spinner said he was shocked to get Kohli’s wicket in that fashion.
"I think I was in more of a shock getting Kohli out off the full toss. He doesn't usually miss those," Santner said as quoted by Cricbuzz after the day’s play.
Santner said that he bowled well on Sri Lankan pitches too but wasn't successful to this extend. He lauded fellow left-arm spinner Ajaz Patel for playing the 'holding role'.
"I think it was one of those days where I just got the wickets. And I guess in Sri Lanka, I thought I bowled pretty well at times,” he said.
"But I guess, we speak about bowling and partnerships a lot.I think that's very important out there. If we can kind of build from both ends, one guy will get the wickets, and one guy will do more of a holding role. And I guess that was kind of what it ended up in Sri Lanka was I was kind of holding and, you know, Ajaz or someone else got the wickets the other end. That might be similar [in the] second innings where we just try to build pressure from both ends and someone might get the wickets.”
Subtle variations in pace work in Santner’s favour
Santner usually bowls a little faster but on Day 2 he slowed it down. He used pace variations to outfox Indian batters. He credited spin bowling consultant Rangana Herath, the highest wicket-taker for a left-arm spinner in the format.
"I think it was, it was slightly slower through the air. I just tried to change it up a little bit but usually, if you bowl those they go for six. So, I think there was obviously a little bit there which was nice. And I think the change of pace was key today," he said.
"I guess when it's spinning at a fast pace, you can kind of stick to that. But [here] there was a little bit of variation. Some would spin, some would skid, some would stay down. So it was kind of just trying to play with angles on the crease as well, but try and land it in a similar spot. You know, we've watched guys like Jaddu [Jadeja] and Ashwin do that for years over here and make it very challenging to play. And that's, I guess, all we try to do," he added.
Importance of bowling a stump-to-stump line
Santner stressed on the importance of being accurate and bowling with a stump to stump line. He predicts that Indian batters will come out to bat with an aggressive approach but it will only make Kiwi bowlers' job easier.
"All we talk about is being accurate for a long time and try to let the pitch kind of do its thing. You know, not trying to try too much. It might be the odd subtle change of pace, but it's still trying to land it in a pretty good area and see what happens," he said, and underlined the importance of keeping the stumps in play for large parts of the game,” he further explained.
"I think especially on the surface, later on, some of them are actually going down. So I think kind of stump to stump. If they want to play across the line or something, we've seen a lot of LBWs and bowleds already. I think we know that going into the next innings is to try to keep the stumps in play and hope for something similar.
"And I think, India will probably come out maybe more aggressive and try and put us on the back foot. But, you know, there's still a job to do with the bat. Obviously, the more runs we get now, it makes our job with the ball a little easier."
